ELMONT, N.Y. -- The Belmont Stakes won't have the Kentucky Derby winner or the Preakness winner, but it won't have a shortage of entries, with a bulky field of 12 or 13 set to contest the last and longest leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday here at Belmont Park.

Gormley Belmont Oh

A final decision on Gormley, the Santa Anita Derby winner who was ninth in the Kentucky Derby, hadn't been announced by 2 p.m. Eastern Monday, but should he run, this year's field size would be equal to the 13 who contested the Belmont a year ago. Barring a rash of unexpected defections or scratches, this will mark the eighth time in the last nine runnings that the Belmont field has 10 starters or more, the exception being 2015, when just seven horses tried, and failed, to stop American Pharoah from sweeping the Triple Crown.

Gormley's trainer, John Shirreffs, and owner, Jerry Moss, were consulting with B. Wayne Hughes of Spendthrift Farm on Monday regarding whether to run Gormley. Spendthrift holds the breeding rights to Gormley, and it is where Gormley will go to stud at the conclusion of his racing career. Gormley is by Malibu Moon, who stands at Spendthrift and at age 20 is still quite active but obviously is closer to the end of his breeding career than the beginning. Gormley is his best current runner, and Malibu Moon's son Orb has been well received at stud.

Jun 09, 2017 Owners Ann and Jerry Moss hope Gormley returns them to racing’s heights in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park after their bid for the Preakness Stakes went painfully awry. Jun 06, 2017 Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby champ Gormley, who finished ninth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, was officially added to the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes field after trainer John Shirreffs and co-owner Jerry Moss. Posted on June 6, 2017. Jun 09, 2017 But bringing Gormley—the Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner who ran ninth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)—to Belmont has helped Shirreffs move on. He compares the aura surrounding. May 27, 2017 We’re undecided on the Belmont.” The final jewel in the Triple Crown will be decided at a mile and a half on June 10 at Belmont Park. Gormley, a son of Malibu Moon owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, was ninth in the May 6 Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness Stakes on May 20.

Gormley was scheduled to fly to New York on Wednesday, which is when all the horses in the race must be on the grounds. Classic Empire, the likely favorite for the Belmont, was scheduled to travel on Tuesday. Classic Empire, last year's champion 2-year-old male, was second in the Preakness after finishing fourth in the Derby. He and Lookin At Lee are the only two horses who will compete in all three Triple Crown races this year.

Always Dreaming, the Kentucky Derby winner who was eighth in the Preakness, and Preakness winner Cloud Computing are both bypassing the Belmont. The last time different horses won the Derby and Preakness and neither ran in the Belmont was 2010.

The Belmont field, including jockeys, is expected to be: Classic Empire (Julien Leparoux), Epicharis (Christophe Lemaire), Hollywood Handsome (Florent Geroux), Irish War Cry (Rajiv Maragh), J Boys Echo (Robby Albarado), Lookin At Lee (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Meantime (Mike Smith), Multiplier (Joel Rosario), Patch (John Velazquez), Senior Investment (Channing Hill), Tapwrit (Jose Ortiz), and Twisted Tom (Javier Castellano). Gormley would have Victor Espinoza aboard if he runs.

The draw for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont is scheduled for midday Wednesday at Rockefeller Center in New York City, during which the Met Mile and Manhattan, part of the outstanding Belmont undercard, also will be drawn. The remainder of the Saturday card was scheduled to be drawn on Tuesday.

It was a fairly uneventful morning on Monday at Belmont Park. Among the highlights were Epicharis, the Japanese invader, visiting the starting gate for a schooling session after galloping on the training track, and Senior Investment, third in the Preakness, jogging 1 1/2 miles and then galloping 1 1/2 miles on the main track in advance of an expected final workout on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Kentucky Derby runner-up Lookin At Lee worked a half-mile in 48.42 seconds over the Belmont main track, his only work between the Preakness, where he finished fourth, and the Belmont.

Working by himself under exercise rider Jesus Vinegas, Lookin At Lee got his last quarter in 23.90 seconds over a fast main track on a gorgeous morning on Long Island.

'That's a very good breeze for him,' said trainer Steve Asmussen, who was in Texas for his eldest son Keith's high school graduation. 'With him having just the one breeze, we feel good about him.'

Gormley (foaled March 20, 2014, in Kentucky) is a two-time Grade I winning-American Thoroughbred racehorse. One of the leading contenders on the 2017 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Gormley finished ninth in the Derby and fourth in the Belmont Stakes. He was retired in October 2017 to Spendthrift Farm, where his sire, Malibu Moon stands.

Toby Sheets, Asmussen's longtime New York assistant, oversaw the move. Lookin At Lee arrived in New York the day after the Preakness, and Sheets said, 'He loves it here.'

Gormley Belmont Stakes

-- additional reporting by David Grening